Intro to Art Therapy: Using Art in Clinical Practice

Full Course Name
Intro to Art Therapy: Using Art Effectively in Clinical Practice

This workshop will provide mental health clinicians with a beginning knowledge on the practical and treatment oriented use of visual arts in psychotherapy. This course is also appropriate for MT, RDT, or DMTs interested in enhancing their ability to effectively integrate visual arts into their practice.

Description of course activity content: This course will examine how to effectively and thoughtfully incorporate art into therapy with attention to designing interventions that are relevant to the needs of your clients and session goals. 

How do we best use art with a child with ADHD versus a teen recovering from a domestic violence experience? How can art be used to help adults address everyday problems? When do we make art-making the central component of the session or decide to use it for anxiety reduction as part of a talk therapy session?

Participants will be introduced to responsible techniques for how to understand the artwork by co-construct meaning and discussing the here-and-now process with clients. Topics covered in this brief but intensive course include differentiating between process oriented, depth-oriented (meaning making), problem-solving, and esteem-building. Learn how to plan projects that achieve your therapeutic objectives in the clinical moment.

Discussion will include an overview of art therapy practice including New York State licensing, national certification and scope of practice guidelines. Course will review the advantages of art and nonverbal interventions including an understanding of basic media along the expressive continuum of control vs. regression.

A description of the teaching methods to be used:

• Lecture and discussion to introduce creative arts therapy theory.
• Role-play dyads of ‘therapist-client’ to practice activities and demonstrate the application of theory.
• Group discussion of role-play experiences and impressions of activities to enhance learning and to gain perspective on the varied subjective experiences of group participants and to identify resistances that clients may experience when asked to complete tasks in a group setting.

The learning objectives of the course. Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the possibilities and limitations for the use of the arts in therapy for mental health professionals who are not licensed as creative arts therapists.
• Identify the differences between process-oriented, depth-oriented, esteem-building, and problem solving art projects.
• Describe responsible techniques for discussing client artwork and co-constructing meaning that will forward the work of therapy to meet treatment goals.
• Plan how to use art in therapy for a specific client population and treatment goal.

4.0 learning clock hours

• 10:45 - 11:00 Registration. Coffee, tea and light snacks provided
• 11:00 - 11:30 Presentation, discussion of the field of art therapy and scope of practice guidelines
• 11:30- 1:30 Hands-on art projects and discussions demonstrating how to introduce relevant art projects into your therapy sessions
• 1:30 - 2:15 Art making and practice engaging with the created artwork to effectively support psychotherapy work
• 2:15 - 2:45 Discussion and synthesis of concepts and materials taught.
• 2:45- 3:00 Evaluation forms and CE certificate distribution

Credits: 4.0 CEs for NYS LCAT*, LCSW, LMSW, LMHC